Fish Will Face A Powerful, Unlikely Alliance In California Water Wars
Liberal San Francisco and conservative farmers in the San Joaquin Valley don’t have much in common politically. But they do agree on one thing: the state's trying to take too much #CAwater and give it to endangered fish. My latest with @dakasler https://t.co/n2BXblulGo
— Ryan Sabalow (@RyanSabalow) January 10, 2019
The Sacramento Bee had a fascinating report yesterday on some unlikely allies coming together in California’s fight for water rights:
The liberal city of San Francisco and conservative farmers in the San Joaquin Valley don’t have much in common politically. But they do agree on one thing: California regulators are going to take too much of their water and give it to endangered fish.
On Thursday, San Francisco joined a cadre of irrigation districts that pull water from the tributaries that flow into the Lower San Joaquin River in filing a lawsuit against a plan by the State Water Resources Control Board to take billions of gallons of their water.
Last month, the water board voted 4-1 to go ahead with a proposal that would require that the “unimpaired flows” of the lower San Joaquin River and its tributaries increase substantially. The board shelved, for the time being, an alternative plan proposed by San Francisco and the irrigation districts that would surrender less water while making investments in spawning grounds and other habitats to help Chinook salmon and other fish populations improve.
